What Is the currency of Denmark?

The official currency of Denmark is the Danish krone.

Danish krone coins and banknotes.

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The Danish krone circulates in Denmark’s economy as well as in the economies of the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The currency’s code is DKK while its sign is kr. The term krone translates to "crown," and therefore the currency is sometimes referred to as the Danish crown. One krone has denominations of 100 øre.

History

A penny made from AD 825 until 840 remains the oldest Danish coin. Harald Bluetooth organized the first systematic minting in the late 10th century, which introduced the Korsmønter (cross coins). Canute the Great boosted production in the 1020s and established minting centers in regions such as Lund, Ribe, Odense, Hedeby, and Roskilde. For nearly 1,000 years, most Danish kings have introduced coins bearing their monogram, names, and even portraits. The Carolingian silver standard formed the basis of the territory's coinage. The periodical practice of reducing the metal value of the coins produced to generate revenue for the state and the monarch led to the loss of public trust in the coins. To rectify this situation, the Danish currency had to be overhauled several times. A new currency was unveiled in Denmark in 1619 by the name krone (crown). A new krone replaced the initial one in January 1875. The krone was previously on the gold standard, but Denmark abandoned it permanently in 1931. A decision to outsource production of the Danish krone was reached in 2014.

Coins

Different series of the Danish krone coins bear different colors and designs in a bid to differentiate them. The 50 øre coins come in copper and are minted using bronze. The one, two, and five knone coins are silver colored and composed of cupronickel alloy. The 10 and 20 knone coins are distinctive in their golden aluminum bronze. The 50 øre coins, as well as the 10 krone coins, are minted with smooth rims in contrast with the interrupted milling of the two and twenty knone coins. The one and five krone coins have their rims milled. The one, two, and five krone coins also have a hole at the center. These properties enable the blind to distinguish between the coins.

Banknotes

Banknotes issued from 1945 range in denominations from 5 to 1000 kroner. The first series was dubbed the Portrait and landscape series, and it circulated from 1952 to 1964. This series featured the values 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 kroner. The Jens Juel series began circulating in 1975, where the notes featured a painting done by Jens Juel located on the obverse side. Another series was unveiled in 1992 in values of 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 kroner. The Bridges series was initiated in 2006 and came into force in 2009. The notes in this series feature Danish bridges in addition to the surrounding landscapes, and they come in the values of 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 kroner.

Danish Krone and the Euro

A referendum held in 2000 in the country resulted in rejection to the introduction of the euro. The currency is however pegged to the euro zone's currency in the ERM II, which is the exchange rate mechanism used by the EU.

Greenland and the Faroe Islands

The Danish krone circulates in Greenland as the Greenlandic krone. Another version of Denmark’s currency circulates in the Faroe Islands, called the Faroese króna, with its distinct banknotes. The Danish coin series is used in the Faroe Islands.